Category Archives: Teacher Tip

Teacher Tip: First Aid Kit & Safety Equipment

I live a blessed life.  In the past eight quarters as a woodshop teacher (and going on one quarter as a chemistry/biology/mad science teacher) I have had four injury reports.  Not the best record, but not the worst.  During set-up this year, I ordered first aid kit for all the tool-heavy classrooms – gardening center,Continue reading “Teacher Tip: First Aid Kit & Safety Equipment”

Parenting: On Making Kids Who Make Stuff

1. Determine your child’s level of interest. A child who’s fascinated by tools or electrical equipment typically demonstrates an almost obsessive interest in them, pays attention, takes direction well, and instinctively focuses on the job at hand. I’ve taught soldering to children as young as eight, and their ability to concentrate is astonishing. If you’re aContinue reading “Parenting: On Making Kids Who Make Stuff”

Community Watch: Ponoko Online Webinars

Ponoko is one of the premier “making” companies on the net today.  Here’s the pitch:  you design it in CAD, you upload it, they make it.  In whatever material they have and you want.  They do 3d printing and laser-cutting.  I’ve been looking at various ways to create a “prototyping” lab in my classroom andContinue reading “Community Watch: Ponoko Online Webinars”

If I Had a Boat (Sailing Curriculum Unit)

In my middle school/junior high class, we’ve been exploring the relationship between sails, force, momentum, foam boats and area.  I’ve used the unit to assess the graphing labs we conducted last quarter and introduce non-linear graphs. I began the unit by asking students to research old sailing boats and draw conclusions from the material theyContinue reading “If I Had a Boat (Sailing Curriculum Unit)”

Teacher Tip: Use Two Bench Hooks

Dadoes are much easier to cut when you use two bench hooks…. You can even chisel out the waste right there.  My students are having such success using bench hooks, knee height workbenches and the tool chest I’m reconsidering my thoughts on bigger workbenches.  I’d like a better assembly table, but it ain’t nothing ifContinue reading “Teacher Tip: Use Two Bench Hooks”

Safety in the Shop: Other People’s Tools

This weekend I attended a welding class.  I’m trying to get some practice laying beads with a MIG welder.  A major safety hazard of welding is being “flashed” by the spark of electricity between the machine and workpiece.  “Flashing” means the brightness of the arc has burned your retinas and can cause severe eye irritation,Continue reading “Safety in the Shop: Other People’s Tools”

Current Projects: The Butterfly Chair

One of my woodshop classes have ended for the week, so I took the opportunity to document the progress: And this is what happens when a student ticks me off! (ok, ok, I was pulling a big nail with a small hammer…)

Teacher Tip: Use Pilot Holes for Hammering!

When installing finishing brads and nails, I usually chuck the nail into the bit and punch a hole through the lumber.  This results in a minimal hole (the length of the nail minus the depth of my drill’s chuck jaws) which prevents most splitting. I recently “discovered” a secret – the deeper the pilot holeContinue reading “Teacher Tip: Use Pilot Holes for Hammering!”

Teaching New Techniques in the Woodshop

In the Masterclass, I had the oppurtunity to bring out my rasps. What a successful technique for my students to make matched part! I usually have to show a technique two or three times before a student picks it up – but this was pretty intuitive. I’m defnetely reworking the tool list: should I addContinue reading “Teaching New Techniques in the Woodshop”